


Homecoming

by anthemXIX



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Drabble, Fairies, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:14:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27701890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anthemXIX/pseuds/anthemXIX
Summary: Returning to the woods restored a piece of him that splintered away when, so long ago, higher powers demanded a sacrifice for destiny. The forest was home for Wild, too, but it wasn’t the same, Time thought.
Relationships: Time & Wild (Linked Universe)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 184





	Homecoming

Even after all these years, no matter where his body might reside, Time’s soul perpetually bedded in the forest. Returning to the woods restored a piece of him that splintered away when, so long ago, higher powers demanded a sacrifice for destiny. 

Out of range of the campfire’s glow and his companions’ sleepy conversations, Time inhaled the intoxicating perfumes of pine and soil. Chinked bark and waxen leaves soothed his calloused palms. 

Nights like this, especially, the forest hummed of homecoming. Darkness, braided with moonbeams, crooned a lullaby that guided him to inviolable childhood dreamlands. The weighted blanket of summer heat draped his shoulders. He imagined a sleep in the cradle of crooked branches, in the benevolent arms of an ancient guardian.

Pink incandescence drifted into his periphery. Time smiled and outstretched a hand, onto which the delicate fairy alighted. Her sister fluttered nearby with a powder blue counterpart. More fairies descended like stardust, buoying carefree through the summer air.

Wreathed by a constellation of fairies, Time meandered toward the chime of water. Miniature cascades rolled into a glassy spring that vibrated with harmless shadows. 

Unexpectedly, someone reclined on the bank. Wild’s bright and curious gaze interrupted Time’s reverie. Time blinked and paused, pink and blue orbs swaying around him. 

Wild’s gentle smile was dampened by his eyes’ melancholy. “Found some friends?” 

The forest was home for Wild, too, but it wasn’t the same, Time thought. 

Without memories, Wild was unanchored when he first awakened. His decimated, depopulated civilization offered sparse refuge; integrating with the wilderness had been the only choice, so he rooted and flowered there. 

Unlike the haven of Kokiri Forest, Wild’s expansive world was untamed. It did not nurture; it merely supplied indifferent asylum to someone adrift. Yet it was what Wild knew and thus loved, and it was where he returned when he sought the solace of home, incapable though it was of reciprocating his affection. 

Heartsick, Time settled in the leaf litter next to Wild. 

The flock of fairies continued to orbit the elder hero. A few strayed towards the greyscale spring, sprinkling speckles of color across it. 

Watching them, Wild murmured, “Fairies always shy away from me. I don’t think they like me.”

“Nonsense.” 

Time extended a hand in silent summons; a blue fairy landed there. With care, he transferred her to Wild’s shoulder; she perched, content. Open-mouthed and awed, Wild craned to see her. 

Petal-like, a pink fairy sailed over to repose on Wild’s wrist. Another brushed against his scarred cheek on her way to roost in his hair. Several more haloed him. 

Wild laughed, sounding young, and Time smiled softly, welcoming him home.


End file.
